MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2022) The head of Northrop Grumman, Kathy Warden, urged European countries on Sunday to clarify what arms are needed for Ukraine so that the industry could provide them effectively.
"The most important thing now is to get a clear demand signal on what the sustained commitment is and the level of draw down from those stockpiles is going to be," Warden said in an interview with Financial Times, adding that the existing stockpiles of weapons in the long term may not be enough.
Global supply chain issues have doubled or tripled the company's turnaround time in some cases, Warden said. According to her, Northrop Grumman is ready to invest in expanding production until new contracts are awarded, but the industry needs to get a signal that there will be demand for weapons.
Another defense company has already begun to procure the necessary components in anticipation of contracts for more weapons, but there is a risk that the produced weapons will not be ultimately used, the newspaper noted.
Major US contractors meet with Pentagon representatives several times a week to discuss what is being delivered to Ukraine, the newspaper said.
